WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY 2016
Name that Giant Sable, and help protect Angola’s iconic antelope
For WED 2016, you can act
to save the Giant Sable from
extinction by taking part in
our naming contest. In July,
helicopter-borne rangers will
shoot several of the remaining
antelopes with tranquilizer darts
and fit them with radio-collars.
The first three animals will
receive names chosen online
by the WED community and
announced on June 5 during the
WED celebrations in Angola’s
capital, Luanda.
The Giant Sable is a large, rare sub-species of sable
antelope found Angola’s forested highlands and nowhere
else – not even in any zoo in the world. An icon in
Angola, its sweeping horns adorn many national symbols,
from banknotes and postage stamps to the shirts of the
country’s football team.
Known in Portuguese as the palanca negra gigante,
the antelope was almost wiped out during Angola’s
long civil war. In 2005, camera traps captured images
that confirmed its survival. But the animals remain
critically endangered due to poaching, habitat loss and
hybridization.
The contest and ceremony will
raise the profile of this urgent
conservation effort. The collars
will help rangers track some of
the last 100 antelopes in two
remote reserves and protect
them from poachers. Scientists
can use the data to learn more
about the species and how to help it recover.
What name do you think would suit this noble-looking
beast, whose horns can grow to over 150 centimetres? In
some African countries, antelopes symbolize speed and
beauty. The name could be that of an Angolan river or
mountain. How about a giant from history or mythology,
or something in Portuguese or an indigenous Angolan
language? It is up to you!
Please enter your proposal and give your own name and
home town, so we can credit the best ideas. The shortlist
will be posted soon so you can vote for your favourite.
Stopping the illegal trade in wildlife is at the center of discussions at the second session
of the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi this week where #WildforLife – a campaign
aimed at to mobilizing millions of people to make commitments and take action to end the
illegal trade – was launched.
Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, in Kenya’s arid north,
represents an iconic example of the benefits of
cooperation in protecting wildlife. Initially a gift from an
old settler family, the land that now comprises Lewa hosts
a variety of wildlife including elephants, black rhinos,
leopards, buffaloes, giraffes, lions, oryxes, gazelles and
numerous bird species.
However, just having the land itself is not enough to
ensure Lewa remains home to some of Kenya’s most
beautiful and most endangered animals.
“We do not believe you can do conservation behind
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Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • May - June 2016
locked doors,” said John Kinoti, Lewa’s Community
Development Manager. “We have to move and engage
our local communities. To do this, we ask ‘What do we
need to do to make life better? What do we need to make
people feel engaged? What do we need to do to improve
economies?”
When the former cattle ranch was converted into a
wildlife sanctuary, it changed the dynamics of the region.
Eventually 62,000 acres were devoted to conservation
and the nature of the economy turned into an economy
of nature. Tourism expanded as a source for a livelihood,